Vertical planer



Dec. 14, 1954 J. D. M COY VERTICAL PLANER 4 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed March 23. 1953,

Jim B) Dec. 14, 1954 J. D. MCCOY VERTICAL PLANER 4 Sheets-$heet 2 Filed March 23. v1953 A TTOR/VEY Dec. 14, 1954 J. D. M coY 2,696,856

VERTICAL PLANER Filed Marbh 25. 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet a Dec. 14, 1954 J. D. MCCOY 2,696,856

VERTICAL PLANER Filed March 23. 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 A TTO RNEY United States PatentO VERTICAL PLANER John Dewey McCoy, Woodlake, Calif.

Application March 23,1953, SerialNO. 343,943

'2 6. Claims. 16]. 144-116) :Thepresent invention relates to -improvements in a sverticalaplaner, and its principal object-is to provide a machineifor planing opposite sides'of pieces of lumber,

" such' as twobytwelves,-while' thelur'nber-passes through the machine standing on edge, for feeding to a re-saw ma- 1 tchine adapted for slicing the pieces into' narrower units.

. Moreparticularly, it'is'proposed to" provide a compact :machine' of the characterdescri'bed' involving a pair of feed rollers, a pair of planing cutters and suitable bearmg plates 1nterposed betweenand-(mounted adjacent to the rollers andeutters to define a'narrow continuous pasisagefor. the pieces of lumber to pass therethrough,-=with I the pieces standing on edge.

v It is further proposed to mount the feed rollers andthe cutters Withtheir axes disposed vertically, each of'the rollers and cutters being of'considerable length so as to accommodate pieces oflumber ofvarying widths,

It is additionally proposed to mount the bearing plates in fixed relation with the rollersandcutters so thatthe '1 bearing faces of the plates maintain a 'fixed' relation-with respect to the outer surfaces ofthe feed rollersandthe cutters.

It is still furthercontemplated to'provide a machine of the character described in which ea'chroller and cutter forms part of a distinct unit, each 'ofthe four=units thus formed. being independently adjustable towardand away from a' central-feed table,

It is. additionally proposed toprovide two parallel vrails, one in front and one in 'the rear,-and tosl'idably "mount the four units onthe g'uide rails, two in frontand two 'in.the rear,-with m'eans:fonadjusting the units with .respect to the guide rails.

And finally, it is proposed to use the front units as sup- T'ports forflthe' feed rollers and'the rear units as supports for the cutter. units, the latter units being also madeto carry their own powerplants.

Further objects and advantages of mYiIlVeIlfiOn will appear as the specification proceeds, and *thenew and 4. novel features of my vertical planer will be fully defined iin the claims. attached hereto.

:The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in.

. the. accompanyingidrawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of my vertical planer;

Fig.2;- an enlarged perspective view 'ofthe feed roller and cutter assembly;

Figure 3, a horizontal section taken through the latterassembly;

' Eigure 4,-a detail vertical-section taken through one 'oflrtherunits ofmymachine. along line-44 of Figure 5;

5 Figure 5, a front view-thereof; and

Figure 6, a fragmentary, transverse, sectional View looking from front to rear in 'Figure 1.

While I have shown onlythe preferred form of'my invention,rit should be understood that various changes ormodificationsmay be made within the scope of the cl'aimattached hereto withoutt departing fromthe? spirit Theupper ends of the front legs are connected by-one of the rails 2 and the' upper ends of the rear legs are connected by a similar rail 2, runningparallel to the'front rail. The two rails are inade in the form of metalplates of considerable width, placed on edge, and present-paraL lel upper and lower edges.

The table 3, which is relativelynarrow, extends centrally across the rails and is secured'thereto by meansof brackets 6.

The two rails have four units slidable thereon, two on each rail, and two on opposite sides of the table,the units beingmarked 7, 8, 9 and 10, respectively.

The left-front unit 7 comprises a channel-shaped member 11 having a web of the same width as'the rail and lying flat against the inner face thereof, with forwardly and downwardly projecting flanges 12 and 13 engaging over the upper and lower edges of 'the rail.

The upper edge of the'channel supportsaninwardly projecting horizontal plate" 14 having apost 15 rising therefrom, the post'being rectangular in cross-section and having a horizontal plate 16 secured upon the top thereof.

The two plates 14 and 16 project s'idewise, that is, toward the table and have a feed roller 17 mounted vertically between the projecting ends thereof. The feed roller, which is of considerable axial length, corresponds substantially to the widest stock to be handled in the machine and preferably has a corrugated surface, as shown, for better gripping action.

The entire unit 7, comprising the channel, 'the post and the feed roller, is urged tQWar'd the'center' by means of the spring 23 encircling the rod 20 projecting from the unit, the spring bearing against the unit at one end and against a fixed bearing'20' at the otherend. The unit may be retracted by operation of hand=wheel 18 at the end of a screw revolvable in a fixed bracket and threaded into the unit in a manner similarto'that shownin Figure 6 in connection with hand wheel 41.

A quick release of the unit may be effected by means of a lever 19 engaging the free end of the rod 20, and

, operated by a foot lever 21, pivoted, as at 22, the lever retracting the unit against the pressure ofthe spring 23.

Thus, in normal operation, the operator'will position 1 the unit by turning the hand-wheel 18. On a right hand turn of the wheel the unit willbe pulled' outward, that is, away from the center, against'the tension of the spring 23'. On a turn of the hand wheel in the opposite direction, the spring will advance the unit toward the center. In cases of emergency, where a quick release is desired, the operator steps on the foot pedal or lever 21, thereby exerting outward pull on the rod 20, and movingthe unit outward against the tension of the spring 23. The wheel 18 is free to move outward with the unit.

The second unit 8 is made of the same general construction and is slidably mounted on the front rail, on the opposite or right side of the table. It comprises a similar channel, shown at 24, the samepost, shown at 25, similar projecting plates 26 and supports a similar feed roller 27, which may be arranged opposite the feed roller '17, or slightly to the rear thereof.

The post of the unit 8 has a pair of bearingplates 28 secured upon opposite sides thereof, the bearing plates being T-shaped in plan view and presenting bearing faces 29 on opposite sidesof the feed roller and in a vert1cal plane substantially tangent to the feedlng' face of the feed roller.

The bearing plates are secured upon the sides' of the post 25 with freedom of angular adjustment to compensate for slight irregularities and for wear and tear. To eifectthis adjustment; I provide knobs 45 projecting "from'the faces of-rthe'posts and having spherical outer The two units 9 and 10 are similar in construction to the front units already described, and are slidably supported on the rear rail 2.

The left rear rail 2 carries, between the two plates above and below its post, a cutter 31, which is vertically mounted and corresponds in length to that of the feed rollers, and also carries a bearing member 32 disposed substantially in the vertical plane of the cutting face of the cutter.

A semi-circular chip breaker 33 is pivoted to this unit, as at 33', and has its nose 34 projecting into the stream of chips emanating from the cutter. The chip breaker is spring-loaded and is adjustable by means of a rod 34'.

The unit 9 also carries, underneath the post, a motor 39 which drives the cutter through suitable belting indicated at 55, the belting being preferably made in the form of a plurality of individual belts running over grooved pulleys 56 and 57 mounted on the motor shaft and cutter 31, respectively, as shown in Figure 6.

The right rear unit llti carries a second cutter 37 and a bearing plate 38, and is preferably set back with respec' to the cutter 31, as shown, so that the two cutters engage the stock successively. The unit also carries its own motor 39, which drives the cutter through suitable belting.

Both of the rear units are adjustable toward and away from the central table by means of hand wheels 41 at the ends of screw 50 removably mounted in fixed bearings 51 and threaded brackets 52 projecting from the units (see Figure 6).

In operation, after the feed rollers and the cutters have been properly adjusted with respect to the central table 3 to correspond to the width of the stock, the latter, which may comprise two by twleves, are fed upon the table on edge, are successively gripped by the feed rollers, and are forced to pass between the cutters, which successively plane opposite sides of the stock.

The stock is suitably guided by the bearing plates and is finally discharged over the free end of the table to be gripped by two feed rollers (not shown), which form part of a re-saw machine and guide the stock into a vertical stretch of a band saw.

It should be noted that the open structure of the machine allows stock to pass through the machine which is of a width greatly in excess of the length of the respective feed rollers and cutters. It is perfectly feasible, for instance, if the feed rollers and cutters have a length of twelve inches to use my machine in connection with stock twenty-four inches in width, by running first the lower half of the stock through the machine, then reversing the stock and running the other half therethrough.

The vertical planer placed ahead of and used in conjunction with a re-saw that slices out boards into various thicknesses will eliminate the use of a horizontal pony planer and the three or four men that operate it. The present method of operation is to take all thin and thick cut boards that are not suitable for slicing because of the variation in thicknessand plane them to a suitable thickness on a horizontal pony planer, and then take them to a re-saw for slicing.

The vertical planer used in conjunction with a resaw will accomplish the same thing in one operation, and thereby cut the cost of manufacture by eliminating one machine and three or four men.

The conventional method of cross cutting rough long boards to suitable lengths for slicing on a re-saw is to first plane them on a large horizontal planer and then cross cut them to length for slicing on the re-saw. By using the vertical planer in conjunction with the re-saw one can eliminate the large planer and two men that it takes to operate it by first cutting the rough boards to suitable lengths and then plane them on the vertical planer and slice them on the re-saw, all in one operation.

Another very desirable feature of my vertical planer is the fact that it is movable and can be moved from one machine to another or can be operated as a separate unit by itself.

I claim:

1. In a vertical planer, a frame having a front rail and a rear rail disposed in spaced and parallel relation thereto, a narrow table extending over the rails from front to rear, two units slidable on the front rail on opposite sides of the table and having vertically disposed feed rollers thereon, and two units slidable on the rear rails and having vertically disposed cutters thereon, each of the rear units having a motor suspended therefrom and having a driving connection between the motor and its cutter, and each of the units having means for adjusting the same toward and away from its companion unit.

2. In a vertical planer, a frame having a front rail and a rear rail disposed in spaced and parallel relation thereto, a narrow table extending over the rails from front to rear, two units slidable on the front rail on c-pposite sides of the table and having vertically disposed feed rollers thereon, and two units slidable on the rear rails and having vertically disposed cutters thereon, each of the rear units having a motor suspended therefrom and having a driving connection between the motor and its cutter, and each of the units having means for adjusting the same toward and away from its companion unit, and some of the units having vertical bed plates thereon in operative relation with respect to the feed rollers and the cutters to form a substantally continuous passage therewith.

3. In a vertical planer, a main frame having a pair of front legs and a pair of rear legs supporting the same, a plate disposed on edge connecting the two front legs, a second plate disposed on edge connecting the two rear legs and facing the first plate, a narrow table extending over the plates from front to rear, channel-shaped carriers slidable on the plates on opposite sides of the table, the carriers engaging over the upper and lower edges of the plates, and rotary members supported by the carriers on vertical axes on opposite sides of the table.

4. In a vertical planer, a guide rail, a carrier slidable thereon, a plate projecting horizontally from the carrier, a post rising from the plate, a second plate projecting from the top of the post in parallel relation to the first plate, and a rotary member supported between the two plates on a vertical axis.

5. In a vertical planer, a guide rail, a carrier slidable thereon, a plate projecting horizontally from the carrier, at post rising from the plate, a second plate projecting from the top of the post in parallel relation to the first plate, and a rotary member supported between the two plates on a vertical axis, the carrier being channel-shaped and being made to engage over the upper and lower edges of the rail.

6. In a Vertical planer, a guide rail, a carrier slidable thereon, a plate projecting horizontally from the carrier, a post rising from the plate, a second plate projecting from the top of the post in parallel relation to the first. plate, and a rotary member supported between the two plates on a vertical axis, the carrier being-channel-shaped and being made to engage over the upper and lower edges of the rail, and the post having a bearing plate secured thereon, with the bearing face of the latter plate arranged in a vertical plane tangentially to the rotary member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Italy Feb. 12, 1948 

